Activision Blizzard invested $500 million on Bungie’s Destiny game series

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Activision Blizzard, the firm behind the popular WoW game, has made an investment of $500 million in its partnership with Bungie for “Destiny”, a sci-fi role playing video game that would be launched in September 2014 for all major platforms.

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CEO Bobby Kotick mentioned that the company is “making a $500 million bet” on Destiny. The budget also includes marketing, packaging, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs, said a spokesperson on Monday. After the success of the “Call of Duty” series, Activsion is keen to develop the next blockbuster franchise.

Bungie, the creators of Microsoft’s Halo will release “Destiny” on September 9 with investors hoping to kick up Activision’s revenue which fell by 6 percent in 2013. Market analysis firm Cowen & Company said sales of last year “Call of Duty: Ghosts” were down by 19% when compared to “Call of Duty: Black Ops II”, as mentioned in a report by Venturebeat. Activision went into a 10-year partnership with Bungie in 2010 that gave the company worldwide distribution rights and major control over the development of the video game.

Analysts predict that Activsion would have to sell 15 to 16 million units of a $60 for coming in terms with the investment. “$500 million would likely be a record spent on a game – especially one without an established track record,” analysts said. Strene Agee’s analyst Arvind Bhatia remains doubtful but mentions that it might post a big surprise.

According to Bungie, “Destiny” is a shared world shooter combining single, cooperative and competitive combat into a single seamless experience. More information on “Destiny” will be revealed during next month’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The game is scheduled for a September 9 release for PlayStation4, Xbox One, PS 3 and Xbox 360.

About Bhanu Jamwal

Living in Aldine, TX, he writes about Mac, iOS, Android and IT Hardware. Apart from writing on The Next Digit, he is also an expert in providing valuable seminars on IT Peripherals and IT Security. All posts by Bhanu